Therapeutic management of canine ehrlichiosis with aid of blood transfusion: a case report

An adult female Labrador Retriever dog was presented at referral veterinary polyclinic, IVRI in lateral recumbency with history of anorexia, high fever, severe panting, heavy tick infestation, and not responding to cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones since last 1 week. Clinical examination showed pale conjunctiva, enlarged popliteal lymph node however, electrocardiogram (ECG) report found to be normal. Haematological finding showed marked anaemia and thrombocytopenia. Parasitological examination found it to be positive for Ehrlichia canis and confirmed ticks to be Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Dog was treated with doxycycline @ 10 mg/kg for 28 days in divided dose with supportive therapy. Blood transfusion was done on second day to avoid complication. Dog showed marked recovery after 15 days and re-examination of blood revealed no parasitemia.